Feds Punish Carson & Barnes for Elephant Escape After PETA Tip-Off
Update (May 31, 2024): Escape that, Carson & Barnes! After PETA notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture that an elderly elephant named Viola had escaped from Jordan World Circus while in Butte, Montana, for a performance last month, the feds cited her exhibitor, the notorious Carson & Barnes Circus, for not properly securing her and protecting her from potential injury.
To date, Carson & Barnes has been cited for more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Elephant Viola has escaped at least twice before—in 2010 and 2014.
In 2021, a PETA investigation revealed that she was being forced to perform daily, despite having chronically swollen feet and signs of other ailments that impacted her rear legs.
This abused elephant’s bids for freedom are yet another sign that animals must be removed from circuses—for their own protection as well as the public’s.
PETA is calling on everyone to leave Carson & Barnes and Jordan World Circus with empty arenas until they go animal-free and send all the exploited animals currently in their clutches to reputable sanctuaries.
Originally published on April 16, 2024:
Shocking video footage from Butte, Montana, reveals that elderly elephant Viola escaped from Jordan World Circus on Tuesday, April 16, and ran panicked on the city’s streets. She had been supplied by Carson & Barnes Circus, which has been cited for more than 100 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Watch the dramatic elephant escape video now:
In response to this nightmare, PETA has submitted an urgent complaint to federal authorities over the circus’s failure to protect Viola and the public. This elephant’s desperate attempt to flee her weapon-wielding handler endangered many lives. We urge everyone to help protect elephants by refusing to buy a ticket to any circus that forces them to perform.
Our complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture requests that the agency investigate Carson & Barnes, hold it and any other parties responsible for this potentially fatal incident accountable to the fullest extent of the law, and ensure that Viola is thoroughly examined for injuries she may have sustained during her escape and subsequent time on the streets.
Viola’s break for freedom comes after decades of being forced to perform grueling and painful tricks and being abused in other ways at the hands of Carson & Barnes. The circus’s workers were previously caught on video electroshocking elephants and beating them with a sharp steel-tipped weapon called a bullhook.
Elephants learn crucial social and behavioral skills from their mothers and other relatives, with whom they share intense emotional bonds. Instead of experiencing this in their natural homes, elephants used in circuses are exploited and hauled from place to place to perform meaningless circus tricks.
